


Thiefstuck

by Kiosk



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, Demonstuck, F/M, Humanstuck, Scourge Sisters, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-18
Updated: 2014-04-17
Packaged: 2018-01-16 04:22:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 3,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1331758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiosk/pseuds/Kiosk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"He finds himself facing an old pair of red, cracked leather boots. He looks further up, past the tattered remains of a white skirt over thin blue pants, and a tightly fitted shirt that must have once been considered finery. Her face is too pale to belong  to a living human, as is her white hair. But it's the sight of her eyes, almost glowing in red that let Tavros know how royally he is fucked."<br/>After her sister's disappearance, Terezi dedicates herself to finding answers. She becomes obsessed with a demonlike race of Theives, who bear no trace of humanity. Things become a mite more complicated when her partner, known to many as "The Summoner"'s son goes missing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for the short chapters, I will try to update frequently to compensate.

Terezi bolts upright in bed, creeping chills in her spine. Why is she awake?

“Vriska?” she mutters, looking next to her. Their shared bed is empty, which is odd. Vriska has never in her thirteen years of life woken up on her own.

Leaves rustle outside. A twig snaps. Terezi steels herself before quietly setting one foot on the cold floor. A shadow passes the window. She considers calling to their parents, but then figures that she’s overreacting.

Vriska’s a big girl. She can pee by herself.

Terezi goes back to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

She brushes the hair from her salt-chapped face. Taking a deep breath, Terezi steps off the bridge onto the dock. She makes her way through the bustling harbor town, by piers and trading posts.

Once at the top of a hill, she looks further inland to where she knows the remains of her house are. There’s no point in thinking about that now. She keeps going until she gets to the White Stag. Rufioh is already there, waiting at the bar.

“You’re early,” she remarks.

“Actually I’ve been thinking about your proposition,” he sets down his drink.

“And?”

“I’m in.”

“Really? Joining my witch hunt?”

“Yeah, speaking of which, how’s the tracking going?”

“Great, I’ve actually completely figured out what took her.”

He looks impressed. “Well tell me.”

Terezi pulls the maps and drawings from her satchel. “It was a theif. You know the lore about them?” He shakes his head. “They’re undead, like vampires, except they feed on life forces instead of blood. They have pale skin, red eyes, and white hair, so they kind of stand out, which is why they mostly stay in wooded areas, where it’s easier to hide.”

“You’ve been busy.”

“Yeah, I’m actually ready to start tracking her. Sadly, since it’s been five years, she could be anywhere on the continent by now.”

Rufioh takes another swig of his beer. “So we have our work cut out for us. I’m sure this has been said to you before, but how do even know she’s still alive?”

“I honestly doubt she is. But I don’t want to have to deal with the ‘but what if’ for the rest of my life.”

“Like your parents?”

“So how’s the wife and kid?” she seems eager to change the subject.

“He’s two years younger than you.”

Terezi sits back on her chair. Sometimes having a lifelong goal causes her to forget that she’s only eighteen. She shrugs. “How is he?”

“They’re both well. Tavros is actually-“

“Mmhm, so when’s the soonest you think you can free up your ship, because hitching with merchant ships only gets us so far.”

“Probably? Within a week, I think.” It’s hard to tell that Rufioh is retired naval captian. Not that he doesn’t act the part, but he seems too young to have lead a conquest on the colonies, and earned the nickname “The Summoner.”

“Great, we’re heading out asap.”

“We?”

“Yes, you and I are heading out asap.” Terezi turns and leaves the tavern.

After a four days of impatiently pacing around a room in the White Stag, Rufioh comes to tell her that everything is ready if she is. She’s been ready for four days. After five years at sea, four days in a tavern is almost unbearable. After getting settled in the guest cabin, she makes her way to the captains quarters to map out their first stop. She’s already sure where it will be. Finally, her quest for answers has some kind of direction.

She will be milking this for all it’s worth.


	3. Chapter 3

Tavros could tell he was fucked from the moment he tripped.

He's a nice guy. He doesn't deserve this. He's only minding his own business, collecting firewood like a good little boy.

When he hears leaves rustling and twigs snapping, he does what anybody with a functioning sense of self-preservation does. He absconds. This proves to be less of a good idea than he thought when a misstep sends his face to meet the forest floor.

He finds himself facing an old pair of red, cracked leather boots. He looks further up, past the tattered remains of a white skirt over thin blue pants, and a tightly fitted shirt that must have once been considered finery. Her face is too pale to belong to a living human, as is her white hair. But it's the sight of her eyes, almost glowing in red that let Tavros know how royally he is fucked.

The Thief bends down to get a closer look at him. He swears she can hear his heart pounding from mere inches away from his face. If he wasn't already frozen, he would be when she cups his cheek in her icy hand. There must be no heat in her body, her lips are a dull bruise-y blue. Her eyes briefly pick over his dark face before locking with his. He expects to see hunger, or wrath, or maybe gleeful bloodlust. But no, they're cold as the rest of her, devoid of emotion. It somehow makes it worse that he'll die coldly and clinically.

After the worst staredown, she softens and backs up. "Aright kid, go home."

"What?

"You heard me, get out of here."

"Um, do I have to?" he asks before he can even process what he is trying to do.

The Thief stands up straight, allowing him to get up as well. She finally at least drops the cool and calculating face, replaced with pure confusion. Apparently this has never happened to her before. "Excuse me?"

What even is he doing?

"Fine, stay here then, I don't care." She turns and begins walking off into the forest. An unbelievably stupid idea occurs to Tavros. So unbelievable stupid, he himself questions his own sanity even as he walks after her. She freezes, and eyes him as if he were eating his own shoe. "Why?"

"If I'm going to die anyway how can you stop me from following you?"

"I try not to say hypocritical things, but kid you are a freak."

Tavros shrugs before following the Thief into what's probably going to be his own demise.


	4. Chapter 4

What's known is this:

Nobody knows where they come from or how they’re born. Some say they’re undead, or have been human in a past life. Some say they’re formed out of pure chaos and cruelty.

Supposedly they have some kind of society, though nobody suspects they’d make one of their own into a paraiah.

Among themselves, Thieves seem downright civilised. Shame their eating habits get in the way of that. It’s unknown how exactly, but anybody who’s ever seen one died within a few days with no clear cause.

Things are much more clear on the inside.

They do have a leader.

There are six of them.

Tavros has happened to have found himself in the clutches of the Thief of Light.


	5. Chapter 5

"So, um," Tavros struggles to break the long-lasting silence, despite tripping all over everything in his attempt to keep up. "Where exactly are we going?" He grunts as a tree branch snaps and hits his stomach. Okay, so keeping up with a non-human entity isn't his strong suit. This doesn't come as a surprise.

"Keep in mind you're the tagalong here."

Is that it?

Yep, she's moving again.

Tavros sighs deeply before running after her again.

After what feels like hours, he runs smack into her back. How long has this been? The sun is beginning to set. It was late afternoon when the Thief first appeared.

He takes a minute to look around. They're in a clearing that he's sure looks much nicer right now, in the golden sunset light than it usually does.

"If you must know, I really don't have a destination."

He takes this to mean she's in a better mood than she was. Maybe now is a better time to ask questions.

"What's your name?"

"Thief of Light."

Oh.

"Really?"

"Yes."

He figured that it was just a title. Learn something new every day. "So there's more of you?"

"Not that you'll want to meet. You're lucky that if you had to run into one of us, it was me"

"So you don't like the others?"

She changes the subject, so he must be right. "Since I guess you're my responsibility now, I'm going to need you to stay here."

"Wait, wh-"

"Sit," she commands. He sits. "Now stay where you are." She darts into the woods.

He's still having trouble processing the fact that Thieves exist. When Aradia told him about them he just assumed she was making it up, just like her stories aboutzombies, the occult, and all things death. She's weird like that.

It occurs that he's going to need to eat sooner or later. Maybe there's some fruit or something around?

He picks around through some of the nearby bushes, finds a few berries that look safe, then turns to see a rabbit a few yards away. Without thinking, he lunges at it and misses. The rabbit is already in its hole by the time he hits the ground anyway.

He hears laughing behind him.

"Okay, you have to admit that was funny."

Tavros stands up and turns around. The look on his face must be indignant, because she snickers again. "Well what do you want me to do, go over there and dig itup for you?"

He can't see himself killing and skinning and eating a rabbit with his bare hands even if the offer is sincere.

He sits down again, and the Thief seems much more relaxed than earlier as she lopes across the clearing and plops down in front of him. By now it's completely dark. In the combined light of the moon and stars he can just make out her eyes on him.

It's going to be a long night.


	6. Chapter 6

Two days later the Summoner's vessel docks across the bay, in the area's largest city. Coincidentally, it also happens to be the place with the most reports of Thief sightings. As the spartan crew brings in the ship, Terezi paces across the upper deck.

She watches the crew for a minute, then goes back to pacing. For once there's nothing to unload, as they only plan to be docked for a day at most. She grasps the railing, watching the buildings as if they might run away. She stares into the water. She goes back below deck

As far as she's gone on her journey, this her first stop with a chance of direct confrontation. Frankly, for all her talk, she isn't sure she's ready to come face to face with what took her sister.

Her first stop here is to talk to a recent victim, one who's just returned from her encounter.

"There were two of them," the frail girl in the bed tells her.

"Two?" This is the first Terezi's heard of Thieves traveling in packs. In fact, she didn't even think they were capable of social bonds. Perhaps she's been underestimating them, prolonging her wild goose chase. "Could you describe them?" she asks.

"They looked very young, aside from the hair and eyes, mean. One boy and one girl. The boy was wearing what looked like a decorated military uniform, but it was all white and his hair was slicked back. And he had glasses. The girl had a lot of hair. Like, masses. She was wearing pretty basic dress, it was also all white."

Terezi continues to question her, learning that they didn't seem to be living in the wild, and that they talked as if there were more of them.

At the end she thanks her. The victim looks defeated, and Terezi can't blame her. Odds are, the girl will be dead by the time she finishes here.

Rufioh is outside waiting for Terezi.

"Did you get the records?"

He pulls a file from his leather bag.

"Awesome." She hopes she'll be able to find a pattern in the attacks. She takes the file and they begin walking to their next stop.


	7. Chapter 7

The chief of police was willing to put up with Terezi rifling through old crime reports, but she has a sense that the willingness is a temporary feeling. So she and Rufioh agree that it's best to make this quick. They sketch out their maps and jot down notes in a rush that's borderline frantic.

Carriage robbery reports are highly concentrated in a specific area of forest about twenty miles inland.

"Looks like we found our next destination."

Back on the ship, they begin planning for a stakeout. Supplies for up to a week are packed. While Terezi's running a last minute check on them, a younger boy runs up onto the ship.

"Is this the Summoner's boat?" he asks. "I have a message for him."

Terezi sees the slightly soggy folded up piece of paper he's holding. "Can it wait? He's in the middle of something right now."

The boy shakes his head. "I'm afraid not, they said it's urgent. Life or death.

"Alright," reluctantly she finds him, and brings him back out. He thanks the kid, and tells him to wait while he finds a tip.

"Are you a pirate?" He asks.

"Um, no."

"But you're on a boat."

"So are you."

"Oh." The kid seems satisfied, if somewhat disappointed. Rufioh returns then and hands him a few coins.  
He sits at the nearby desk to read the note, in apparently urgent scrawls, while the kid runs off. Terezi watches his eyes scan the paper with curiosity.

The change in his demeanour is gradual as he absorbs whatever it says. His jaw stiffens, his cheeks pale, and his eyes take on a look of panic. He places the note down on the desk wordlessly.

Terezi picks it up in her companions mental absence. The handwriting looks even messier up close. She reads it with only a bit of trouble however, taking in the message. She puts it back down. Understanding exactly his feelings, or at least almost exactly, she waits a minute before speaking.

"I guess I'll find a carriage now."


	8. Chapter 8

The Thief of Light was not kidding about having no destination. She leads Tavros on a winding path through the woods across the counryside. She seems to have a fear of being in one place for too long. Which makes sense.

Over the course of the next day they travel over at least ten miles, but he’s given up trying to estimate. After only two days, he has no clue where he is. At least he isn’t dead.

He thinks he isn’t.

So maybe this isn’t his smartest idea.

Now he’s alone again, waiting for Vriska to come back from doing god knows what. He’d rather not know. He assumes she’s hunting, as he has yet to actually witness her eating. He guesses some mysteries are best left unsolved. So what exactly is he planning to do? He’s kind of trapped here. Technically speaking, he could leave, theoretically, if he knew how to get back to civilization. Which he doesn’t. Which poses an issue.

His thoughts are interrupted by a small burlap sack dropping into his lap. He looks up to see the Thief standing above him.

“Dinner,” she explains, and leaves it at that.

Tavros hasn’t eaten anything but nuts since he took off following her. His stomach begs him to check out the bag’s contents, but he musters up his willpower and first gives her a questioning look.

“You looked hungry.”

Tavros gives up on being tough and dignified. He opens the sack, and pulls out a loaf of bread and a decently sized chunk of salted pork. The Thief sits in front of him, red eyes fixed on him.

“Is that really necessary?” he asks.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He first takes a bite of the bread. He wonders if he can take to mean she’s warming up to him. “So,” he begins to ask, “are you-“

“Just eat.”

“Ok.”


	9. Chapter 9

That night Tavros actually sleeps well, and immediately. For the first time in days, his stomach is full. He drifts off with the determination that there's more to this thief than an undead monstrosity and he is going to dig it up. Even though he feels her eyes on him the whole night, he wakes up with the determination still there, along with a goal, which is more than he had yesterday.

He sits up. As soon as he does, two things happen. The thief stands up, and his confidence begins to wane. He'd better act before it's gone.

"Ok, so, I have questions, and you keep not answering them."

"That's correct." Her eyes are still fixed on his face.

"Is there a reason?"

"There are things I'd rather discuss, if that's what you're saying."

"Can i ask some questions?" He stands up, maybe she'll take him seriously if he isn't sitting on a patch of dirt.

"Fine, if you must. I'm not going to guarantee an answer."

Tavros waits a second to try to scrape up a coherent question. "Is Thief of Light your real name? Or like, um, your only name? I mean it's a little cumbersome..."

She sighs. "All I know is that a good amount of time ago i woke up in a room with the other Thieves in it. They were friendly enough, mostly because the were trying to turn me. Every now and then, they'd go out hunting, and offer me a share. I'd say no because I had no idea what that meant. They always called me 'Light'. After a few days i noticed they didn't seem terribly concerned with eating, or feeding me. I also noticed that i wasn't hungry, even though I hadn't eaten since before I woke up woth them. That's when i realized that my hair was turning white, and the rest of me was wasting pale too. It felt weird, like I wasn't hungry, exactly, but the urge to eat was still there. And I was still getting weaker. Within a week, I caved and accepted the offer."

"Wait, what were they offering?"

She closes her eyes. "They came back in just like every time, and Life came up to me like always, and asked me if I wanted a share of her catch. I still didn't know what that was, but I was getting upset. So I said yeah, fine. And then the hunger was gone."

She stops. Tavros can't tell if she's done and that's all he's going to get. Once she starts talking again, it's rushed like she can't get the words out fast enough.

"And then the next day, there are mirrors up. I hadn't even noticed there were no mirrors around but all of a sudden, bam, there they are. As if they wanted me to be able to clearly see myself at all times, I guess because I looked like this now. And then the others come in and ask if I want to go hunting with them, and I'm here just freaking the fuck out. Then Hope's like 'nah guys i bet she's scared' and Blood starts pissing himself and Heart's already out the door so I i just said 'sure why not.' So we went hunting, and they taught me how." She composes herself, then slows. "After a while I decided I didn't like being like this, and I left. But turns out it was a one-way transformation. And now I'm stuck."

"So..."

"Yeah Mother was pissed." She stands up. "Welp, I'll say we've just wasted enough time on that." She begins to walk, like she knows he'll follow. Which he does. If immediate survival wasn't enough to keep him with her, the curiousity she's just piqued most definitely is.

She pauses, turns her head slightly in his direction, and whispers "Vriska."

Effectively eliminating any remaining chance of him going anywhere besides after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok this one's a little longer than the rest. Don't let it fool you i still have only a vague idea where this is going.  
> But yeah just try to guess who the other Thieves are.


	10. Chapter 10

Over two days, Vriska seems more relaxed. She let him know if she's going hunting. He knows exactly what she's hunting now, and tries not to think about it. He doesn't know any details, and he doesn't want to.   
There are other things he's curious about though.  
"So, is 'Mother' an Thief?"  
"Not really. If so then she's a super old one. With these like claws and stuff. Not a pleasant lady. I mean even less pleasant than me."  
Vriska has been displaying some abrasive personality traits.  
Throughout the conversation she's been half jogging a few yards in front of him. Apparenly resting is a foreign concept to her.   
A sudden thought occurs to Tavros. He remembers the fantasy books he used to read. She looks like a teenager, maybe his age, or maybe even younger, but that really doesn't say much. She could be hundreds of years for all he knows.   
"So, um, how old are you?"   
She half grins in his direction. "So you finally caught on too the whole 'undead' thing."   
Oh. Strictly speaking, that'd be right, wouldn't it?  
"Eighteen. So yeah it's not that bad."  
"And what about the others?"  
She stops for once. "I actually don't know. I know I was the youngest, after Blood, and Life and Hope were the oldest. I don't have any actual numbers though." She thinks for a little more, then adds "Life and Mother have been around a while."  
Tavros assumes that the other Thieves have normal human names too. It feels a little weird to hear her using normal words as names.   
"Are we done with the interview?"  
"One more?"   
"Sure, fire away."  
He takes a deep breath. "So you um, like, ran away?" He winces at how awkward the words come out.   
Vriska turns back away from him. "Yeah I think we've wasted enough daylight for now," she says before starting off. 

Tavros groans a little bit before he follows her.


End file.
